In the testing of wafer-based semiconductor devices, probe cards are typically used to provide electrical interconnection between a testing system and the semiconductor wafer. Such probe cards may, for example, include a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), a probe substrate and an interposer (e.g., a pogo pin or spring pin based interposer) that provides electrical interconnection between the PCB and the probe substrate. Resilient probe elements are supported by the probe substrate. For example, in certain probe cards, the probe elements may be held in a “floating” configuration within a probe head adjacent the probe substrate. In other probe cards, the probe elements may be fixed at one end to a conductive region (e.g., a conductive trace, a terminal, a lead, a contact pad, etc.) of the probe substrate.
The probe elements may have different configurations depending upon the testing application. For example, cantilever style probes are sometimes used in the testing of memory devices. Such cantilever probes may include (a) a post adjacent a conductive region of the probe substrate, (b) a cantilever beam bonded to the post, and (c) a tip portion positioned adjacent an end of the cantilever beam and configured to probe a contact pad (or the like) of the semiconductor device being tested. There is difficulty in assembling probe cards with probes of these and other types. For example, it may be difficult to achieve a desired planarity with cantilever probes.